MASTER CLASS

January 16, 2018

When in Ireland, Britain, Holland or Morocco you see so many beautifully colored front doors.In England, the most common door color is black; not just any black but a black that’s so wonderful and shiny you could actually apply your makeup in it...

LET'S DO THIS...First, what else is going on?🔴Is this door color going to be accentuated in any way by other peripheral items? 🔴Is it complimented by other colors on the home?🔴Is it the sole focal point of your home?

ACCENT PIECES

This entrance to Kathryn Ireland's doors borrows the colors of the wonderful pots flanking it!

PERFECTION!

NEIGHBORHOOD

If you live in a funky, kinda Haight-Ashbury or Notting Hill type neighborhood, this works.If you're not in a funky neighborhood you may be asked to move to one.

ARCHITECTURE

Maybe you have a more serious, well-designed home and want something sophisticated. Great architecture doesn't need additional focal points, so this soft sage green is perfect on everything.

WHEN TO USE COLOROften homes have brick or siding which needs to stay the color it is. That's when a beautifully colored door becomes a good "design distraction"This gorgeous door is totes boring in all white, it would be fabulous in a Café-au-lait color or Brittany Blue

WHAT GETS PAINTEDThere are very confusing rules about what gets painted when painting a door.RULE #1Only the door itself gets paintedNever the jamb or the fenestration or the sidelights!The door below is correct

Stained jambs and fenestration is ONLY appropriate if you're in a rugged, mountain type home built with masculine material like stone and big timers

ROW HOUSES

Most people want them all to be homogeneous.

I love when everyone shows their individuality.

HISTORIC HOMESIn George Washington's day, color was a sign of wealth as paint pigments were actually ground from semi-precious stones or extracted from plants, and very expensive to produce.

WHAT COLOR IS RIGHTFOR YOUR HOME?

BLACKBlack doors are always elegant and always a winner! A bit mysterious and rich looking too.

REDAmericans have a tendency to over use red doors with brass hardware... But, it is a great color!The tradition of a red door started in 18th century America which indicated that the owners took in travelers as there were no Holiday Inns between Richmond and Boston.

GRAY & GREIGE

Softer colors aren't a statement, they just enhance the architecture by letting the details speak for themselves.

ROYAL BLUE

Stunners! You don't see enough of itit's just sooo smart looking.

GREENAlways Chic.Greens are 'honest' and attractive, there's a certain coziness to green doors.

TURQUOISE

Chic as shit, cool, unexpected and happy!

YELLOW

Yellow makes the energy of the house positive.Especially if you live in a northern climate, it screams sunshine all year round.

(Just don't get a smiley-face doorknocker!)

PINK

Pink is daring and sexy.BUT, it should be used on one thing only on the exterior: Don't make it look like a John Waters movie set with your porch rockers, cement jockey and the Virgin Mary bird-bath all painted pink...

CORAL

Coral is the now color; everyone loves it and it's great with any style house.

STAINED WOOD

Stained door needs to be fabricated with a superior species of hardwood like oak, mahogany, teak, etc. When stained it will deepen and highlight the beautiful natural grain.(BTW: Stained doors are Victorian, not Georgian, not Norman, etc.The Victorians loved oak, so stained oak front doors were de rigueur)

I recommend a specific type of paint, its from Europe, but sold in America. All the American paint companies say theirs is as good...but it's not! This paint rocks, it's absolutely amazing; it costs more and takes a little more time, but the investment is recompensed through the pleasure of seeing it done well, and it lasts four times longer.

A panel door has many sections and each section should be sanded and painted individually in the directions shown below

Going in the numeric order marked on the image below gives you the best chance at achieving a uniform finish. Brush the paint in the same direction you have sanded the door (see above image)On exterior doors, for weather protection, it is a good idea to paint the top and bottom edges.

PAINT EVERYTHING

STAINING YOUR DOOR

There's nothing worse than a poor-quality stained door, or one that constantly needs refinishing.

To keep it beautiful you'll need to apply a minimum of four coats of polyurethane.

If you want a pee-in-your-pants door it should have ten coats of poly with a sanding between.

This will make your door the talk of the town and will look stunning for many years to come.

September 3, 2017

New mothers create picture perfect rooms for their new turd-rolled-in-talcum, and then in 2 to 3 years nurseries get reworked as toddlers need places to roam and play.Layettes and cribs go away, so don't spend tons of money on expensive curtains over a crib or a fancy rocker as they're only 'temporary' pieces.

THINK WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND

Use backgrounds which don't scream "baby."

Don't spend all your bank on decorations specifically for the crib.

Don't spend big on furniture that you only will need for 18 months.

Don't use plush carpeting, it will have Matchbox car wheels and baby doll shoes lost in it. Use a firm dense carpet.

Don't place overhead lights in a child's room that have exposed bulbs as children are on their back and look up.

Don't decorate the nursery for others to see, guests shouldn't be in the nursery anyhow as they may have germs or viruses on their hands and touch the crib and other objects. Bring the baby out to your visitors once you've wiped them all down with hand-sanitizer.

NURSERIES

Interesting in its subtlety with no gender specific decor, the crib is easily changed out for a bed.

This surfer dawg is chillaxin' in his bodacious orange crib, waiting on his grindage.

Casually sophisticated, not at all Toys-R-Us...Lots of white is good and easy to morph into something else in 24 months.

This country-style nursery hits all the important points; it's cozy, has soft light, and is easily transformed into a three-year-old's room without major changes, and isn't gender specific.

Even rich kids have nurseries...

This palatial room with its gilt accents and wall paintings is actually almost successful .... it just needs "stuff" and to be cozied up some!

This "Pottery Barn" style nursery is well done; good colors, cute rugs and accents. The eaves are utilized for storage with built-in dressers and cabinets!

A funky "low-budget" space with repurposed pieces and bright primary colors. The old TV armoire is now the baby's storage closet.

This beautiful nursery in London is the quintessential 'transitional room.' It has the crib and the wet-nurse bed which baby will move into eventually. This room will serve this child until she's a teenager. I think the small string of lights around the bed curtains are adorable (and dimmable by the way!)

BOYS ROOMS

The NASCAR room!Bring lil' Dale Junior up in fast style! It's indestructible and chances are the kid will like it until he's 40's when he finally moves out.

For the little hunter in your family! The wainscoting with bookshelf will catch all the clutter. The cot-style bed and the "sleeping bag" rolled up are quite clever.

The Taxidermy is a bit scary…jus sayin'

My favorite bunk bed of all times! The mahogany and v-groove panelling is a home run.

Twins? Quadruplets? Lots of cousins?

This works well in a weekend place without ever looking dated or juvenile.

Ahoy Vey! The captains cabin has these custom crew-bunks for himself, his first mate, a deckhand and scullery maid, plus two stowaways on the trundle beds underneath!

GIRLS ROOMS

Wutdafuqizat???

I guess if you want your daughter to grow up to be Courtney Love, then this is definately for you!!

A beautiful transitional room could accommodate a three year old and look great for years to come as the old iron bed and tôile fabrics are timeless.

Everything mixes easily with pastels.

Personally, I don't like beds in front of windows for fear of drafts.

Recyclorama!

Bright pink walls give a kick to this low-budge room. The repurposed Victorian headboard painted sweet-pea is flanked by two 'found' tables - each a different color works especially well on a shoestring budget.

This schmancy Christina Crawford bedroom is just too adult. It's hard to imagine a HelloKitty poster anywhere in this room. Kids need to personalize their rooms as they get older, its a good thing, don't force them to live in a designer show-house room.

This home-made bunk bed is cheap to build, so when the girls get tired of it, or grow out of it, it can easily be replaced.

WALL MURALS

This is good for a boy or girls room, aquariums are always fascinating to children.

Do I need to tell you to avoid images that may be scary to kids?

This wall decoration would be inexpensive to do, have more impact than wallpaper, and will easily transition into the pre-teen years.

Murals on children's walls should be naive and impressionistic, it makes the room playful. You can see how this could originally done for a nursery and evolve into a "big-boy" room.

This wall mural will be good for a young boy by until he's fourteen or so as its not "childish."

KID'S BATHROOMS

Kids bathrooms need to be built tough, no possibilities for screw-ups and LOTS of accessible storage.

If there is more than one child using the same bathroom then make specific areas for each, keep the fighting to a minimum, please....

This bathroom from the Kohler showroom demonstrates all the things a child's bathroom could utilize:

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A "MASTER CLASS" FOR THE INTERIOR DESIGNING NOVICE! STEP BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE OF "TO-THE-TRADE-ONLY" AND PUT ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER, YOURSELF!
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This Blog's fun, casual attitude will offer you an instantly deep understanding of the planning and design stages necessary to successful interior designing so you can avoid costly mistakes and ultimately have a home you’ll love for less! You’ll also learn how to find wholesale resources, browse antique shops, and ferret out the best off-price stores
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